The day had arrived. Today he would meet Antonia. Marcus still wasn't too sure how he was supposed to feel about the whole thing. To some part he was dreading it, but then he was also kind of looking forward to it and was curious to finally get to meet her.
He was still wondering what she would be like. What it would be like to meet her. He didn't know all too much about her so far. Only that she liked reading a lot and also spent some time in the stables. He hadn't been able to really make out any of her features when he had last visited the Cornwall Estate, but from what his father had told him, Antonia hat to be a beautiful young woman.
Marcus wondered if he would feel attracted to her. And if she would feel attracted to him of course. Ugh, this was nerverecking. Why was it such a big deal to him though? Because it felt like there was so much at stake, a small voice inside his head answered. If they did feel attracted to each other, what would he tell Willow?
He had to stop thinking about this. It was getting him nowhere anyways. He would just have to wait and see. Marcus looked at his reflection in the mirror. Did he look somewhat presentable? Should he be shaving? No he wanted this to be as authentical as it could possibly be.
He wanted Antonia to meet him the same way Willow did. Just in his normal every day attire. He wouldn't try to look extra attractive or extra unattractive. He just wanted to look like himself. Because if she happened to like him, he wanted it to be for who he was and what he actually looked like.
Letting his hand glide through his hair once more he let out a sigh. It would all be fine. This was not a big deal. Just an informal meeting. So he could make a decision. But that decision didn't have to be made today. Today he was just getting the information he needed to be able to make a decision at all.
Marcus made his way downstairs and out the back door towards the stables. He had decided to ride to the Cornwall Estate and not take his father's coach. Riding might clear his head a little. And he could definitely use that. For Christ' sake! He had to calm down and relax. His palms were all sweaty and he had to rub them against his trousers.
Alright, enough is enough! It's not like she is the first girl you ever met, Marcus told himself. Now get a grip, you will be fine.
He rode off into the direction of the Cornwall Estate and arrived there not too much later. It had to be around two thirty in the afternoon and the sun was shining on his back. Just to their luck it had turned out to be quite a nice day. The clouds that had covered the sun in the morning had disappeared and now it was a lovely afternoon. Perfect weather for a stroll in the gardens like Antonia had suggested. He had actually found that to be a pretty good idea. The fresh air and their slight movement would probably help to keep the conversation flowing and help them both with their nerves. Surely Antonia had to be nervous as well right? After all it was possible that they would marry some time in the nearer future.
The Cornwall Estate finally came into sight. Just a few more moments, Marcus thought. Surely once he would be there, his nerves would calm a little. As he came to a halt in front of the big house, the stable boy already came his way to take care of his horse for him.
A small smile sneaked on Marcus' face as he remembered that he had thought that Willow was the stable boy here. Unbelievable that she had managed to trick him like that.
Marcus had just turned towards the front door as it opened to reveal Philip.
"Good day, Marcus!" he greeted a smile on his lips. "Please, why don't you come inside."
After making his way up the few steps that lead to the entrance door, Marcus und Philip shook hands and Marcus was led inside. Antonia was nowhere to be seen yet and Marcus was just beginning to wonder where she could be when Philip spoke up.
"My sister will be down shortly. You know how girls are, taking forever to get ready." Philip rolled his eyes laughing and Marcus joined in with him, more for a matter of modesty than because he would have actually found the statement funny. "Let's wait at the back porch, shall we?"
Marcus nodded in reply and followed Philip out the back door. He didn't really mind where they would wait for her, as long as she would show up soon.
"Would you like some lemonade? I have instructed Elise to make some again today." Philip offered, gesturing towards a small decorative table, with a carafe full of lemonade and a few glasses.
"Yes that would be quite lovely. Thank you." Marcus accepted. That would busy his hands enough so he wouldn't have them fidgeting around, which was exactly what he was trying to prevent right now.
A glass of lemonade was handed to him by Philip only a moment later. Marcus wandered to the end of the back porch, his gaze drifting through the garden and finally coming to a halt on a specific oak tree in the very back. It had to be the oak tree that Willow used to climb over the wall, he thought. Taking a sip from the refreshing lemonade, his thoughts were just about to wonder off, when a feminine voice snapped him out of his back into the here and now.
Willow had been pacing around her room the whole morning. She was nervous beyond repair. And of course she tried to imagine what that man would be like. Who would her brother choose for her? Was it one of his friends? Had she possibly even seen him here before?
Would they even get along? What was she supposed to say? What would they be talking about? So many questions were razing through her head, it was hard for her to keep up. Time didn't seem to pass at all the whole morning. Her brother hadn't let her out of her room since the night before and there was nothing here to keep her distracted. So her mind just kept going back and forth about what might and might not happen.
Willow wondered what he looked like. And what his name was. Her brother hadn't even told her that. Pacing back and forth in her room, she didn't know what to do with herself. Why couldn't her brother at least have given her some information? Anything would be better than meeting a man she didn't know a single thing about.
Other than him being the son of a Grand Duke and obviously willing to marry a complete stranger. Oh this couldn't end well, could it?
After lunch, that Willow had barely touched, due to her nervousness, Elise came into her room to help her get dressed. Again. It's not like she had been naked the whole morning. But obviously her brother had ordered Elise to put Willow in her nicest summer gown. And for once she actually didn't mind the changing process. At least it was something to do.
At this point everything was better than just sitting in her room all alone with her thoughts razing a million miles and hour. After she was finally dressed in the gown that her dear brother had requested, Elise ordered Willow to sit down in front of her dressing table, so she could take care of her hair.
God, her brother was going all in, wasn't he? If the Grand Duke was so eager to marry her, why did she have to dress to impress? While Elise was busy with her hair, Willow couldn't help fidgeting around with her hands, drumming her fingers against the skirt of the dress.
This was nerve wracking. Had the Grand Duke arrived yet? What time was it? How much longer until Elise would be done?
Ugh, she needed to calm herself. Being so nervous would get her nowhere. It would be fine. It was just a meeting. And it would get her out of this room. If she was lucky there might just be a chance to run away. Although she doubted that her brother would leave her out of sight. Well the chances were better than escaping from a locked room anyways.
Finally Elise was done with her hair. Willow threw a quick glance into the mirror in her room. She looked quite presentable. One could probably even say pretty. Surely she looked just as neat as her brother had wanted.
Elise had left to go downstairs and see if the Duke had arrived yet. She had promised to be back and get her, once it was time. For the moment the only thing Willow could do was continue her pacing. But only a moment later the door opened again and Elise was back. Was he really there already?
Willow could feel her heart picking up speed as she ever so slowly made her way downstairs. She was curious to meet that man, but also dreaded it. Seeing him would make the arranged marriage all the more real. Biting her lip out of nervousness she reluctantly followed Elise through the house.
Coming to a halt in front of the back door, Elisa gestured towards it. So they were waiting on the back porch, Willow thought.
Through the glass of the door, she could already make out two people. One was definitely her brother. She could only see the left side of the other man as he was facing towards the garden though.
Closing her eyes and talking another deep breath, Willow quietly opened the door and made her way towards the two men, only looking up when she had nearly reached them. And what she saw when she lifted her gaze, made her stop dead in her tracks.
"You?" Was the only word that escaped her lips, not quite able to believe her eyes.
The man turned around and their eyes met.
"You." Marcus exclaimed, equally as surprised as Willow was.
Philip's gaze was wondering between the two of them, as their eyes stayed locked and an amused grin spread on both of their faces.
Without a thought wasted on proper etiquette Willow ran the few last steps that separated her and Marcus and embraced him in a tight hug. Oh how relieved she was. Marcus' arms circled around her and for a moment they just stayed there. Both relieved at the outcome of events.
Meanwhile Philip was still trying to figure out what was actually going on. He had by no means expected their first encounter to go anything like this.
"I can't believe it is you!" Willow beamed as Marcus released her from their embrace.
"And I can't believe you lied to me!" Marcus replied laughing.
"What? No, I didn't!" Willow crossed her arms in front of her chest, trying to seem mad. But technically she really had not lied to him.
"Well I clearly remember you telling me your name was Willow." Marcus taunted her in a cheerful manner.
"And it is! Antonia Willow Clarice. My mother's name was Antonia so everyone just calls me Willow." She explained laughing.
"Alright, maybe that wasn't a lie. But you seriously need to stop turning the truth around like that!" Marcus replied laughing as well. "You made me think you were a servant here. Twice!"
"You just assumed that." Willow exclaimed, rejecting all blame that he tried to put on her. "I never said that I was a servant."
"Fair enough." Marcus gave in. "But you did say you grew up with the Duchess. Not as the Duchess."
"Yes, I guess I did." Willow admitted a sheepish grin on her face.
"Would anyone be so kind and tell me what the hell is going on?" Philip's voice was heard from beside them. They had both completely forgotten that he was even there. Both their eyes now snapped towards him as on cue. He didn't seem to be very amused about the fact that he had been completely ignored and had a slightly annoyed look on his face.
"Oh, I'm sorry Philip, I think we forgot that you were there for a moment." Marcus laughed, obviously not bothered in the slightest by Philip's annoyed tone of voice.
"I noticed." Philip grumbled.
"Well your sister and I have actually met before. It's a long story really." Marcus explained in a cheery voice. He still couldn't believe that Willow had managed to trick him into thinking she was someone else. Again.
And there he had been worrying about who he would choose if he liked Antonia and Willow only to find out that they were one and the same person.
"If you don't mind, Philip, I'd like to borrow your sister for the walk that she had proposed as you stated in your letter." Marcus spoke up again, waiting for Philip's approval.
"Huh?" Willow questioned, not remembering suggesting that they should go for a walk.
"Ehrrr... No, of course. I don't mind." Philip replied, hoping that he wouldn't get caught lying if he just agreed quick enough.
Marcus turned towards Willow, a grin still on his face, as he offered his arm to escort her down the few steps into the garden.
"I never proposed to go for a walk in the gardens." Willow stated once they were out of earshot from Philip.
"Oh, I know, dear." Marcus replied chuckling. "Philip just claimed that you did in his last letter to me and I just couldn't resist calling him out on it." He burst into a short laugh. "Did you see the panicked look on his face?"
Willow chucked a little. "What else did he tell you about me?" She just had to know. Surely Philip must have said something else.
"Well he mentioned that you were looking forward to meeting me in that very same letter too." Marcus stated. "Although I highly doubt that you were too happy."
"Of course I wasn't! Stupid liar!" Willow exclaimed loudly. "All I knew was that I was to meet my betrothed. How could I look forward to that. I didn't know a single thing about that person. Philip didn't tell me anything at all." Willow couldn't help it, she just had to get that anger against her brother off of her chest. "That idiot didn't even mention that I was promised to someone until the other night, when he caught me sneaking back onto the ground after I met you." She huffed annoyed.
"Wow, wow," Marcus held his hands up in a surrendering matter, "slow down little tiger."
Willow let out another huff, rolling her eyes.
"You two don't seem to get along all too well." Marcus stated, gazing at Willow.
"He never talks to me about anything. All he ever does is coming up stupid rules and scolding me." Willow explained the annoyance at her brother still very much present in her voice.
"And I bet you have never once broken one of those rules." Marcus couldn't help teasing her a little with a grin on his lips.
"Whose side are you even on?" Willow laughed, playfully hitting his arm.
The two continued their stroll through the garden, chatting, chuckling, laughing and teasing each other. Willow showed Marcus the place where she would always climb over the wall and complained about hooped skirts for a while, while Marcus couldn't help but chuckle.
He just couldn't believe that he hadn't managed to put two and two together. All the pieces had been right there in front of him, but he had failed to put them together. Willow had told him that she helped in the stables a lot and Philip had mentioned to him that his sister liked to spend time in the stables.
Willow had said that she first discovered the place in the woods with her brother and that she grew up at the Cornwall Estate. She had even told him about how she got caught trying to get a book from the library.
How had he not seen the connections. That everything Willow had told him about herself somehow matched with what he knew about Antonia. His mind was too stuck in believing that Antonia couldn't possibly be anything like Willow and he completely blocked out the evidence that they were one and the same person all this time.
Wasn't it crazy how they had spent all this time together, talked more than once about that arranged marriage and neither of them had been able to see that that arranged marriage had been planned between the two of them all along? If only they would have realized this sooner. They could have saved themselves so much trouble. But at least they knew now. And they were happy. That was the most important thing!
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